Not applicable.
1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to diffusers and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for diffusing or emulsifying a gas or liquid into a material.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many applications, it is necessary to diffuse or emulsify one materialxe2x80x94gas or liquidxe2x80x94within a second material. Emulsification is a subset of the process of diffusion wherein small globules of one liquid are suspended in a second liquid with which the first will not mix, such as oil into vinegar. One important application of the diffusion process is in wastewater treatment. Many municipalities aerate their wastewater as part of the treatment process in order to stimulate biological degradation of organic matter. The rate of biological digestion of organic matter is very dependent upon the amount of oxygen in the wastewater, since the oxygen is necessary to sustain the life of the microorganisms which consume the organic matter. Additionally, oxygen is able to remove some compounds, such as iron, magnesium and carbon dioxide.
There are several methods of oxygenating water. First, turbine aeration systems release air near the rotating blades of an impeller which mixes the air or oxygen with the water. Second, water can be sprayed into the air to increase its oxygen content. Third, a system produced by AQUATEX injects air or oxygen into the water and subjects the water/gas to a large scale vortex. Tests on the AQUATEX device have shown an improvement to 200% dissolved oxygen (approximately 20 ppm (parts per million)) under ideal conditions Naturally occurring levels of oxygen in water are approximately 10 ppm maximum, which is considered to be a level of 100% dissolved oxygen. Thus, the AQUATEX device doubles the oxygen content of the water. The increased oxygenation levels last only minutes prior to reverting back to 100% dissolved oxygen levels.
Greater oxygenation levels, and longer persistence of the increased oxygen levels, could provide significant benefits in treating wastewater. Importantly, the efficiency of the organic digestion would be increased and the amount of time need for biological remediation would decrease, improving on the capacity of wastewater treatment facilities.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a diffusing mechanism capable of diffusing high levels of one or more materials into another material.
The present invention disclosed and claimed herein comprises, in one aspect thereof, a method of treatment of water in an aquatic environment. Water is first pumped from a reservoir to a first mixing station. An inert gas is introduced into the pumped water at the first mixing station to provide inert gas saturated water, which inert gas saturated water will displace undesired gasses in the water in the reservoir. The inert gas saturated water is then pumped to a sparging column such that the inert gas and undesired gasses will be released from the inert gas saturated water to provide depleted water. The depleted water is then pumped to a second mixing station, wherein oxygen is introduced into the depleted water to provide oxygen enriched water. The oxygen enriched water is then returned to reservoir.